Croissant Park Meeting-- February 28, 2012

Hi All

Our February meeting started off with a crime report from FLPD Officers Jackson and Stevens of the Neighborhood Action Team assigned to our area. We had 4 auto burglaries, 3 residential burglaries and 2 auto thefts in the last month. The

auto burglaries occurred in the cemetery. Officer Jackson reminded us not to leave any valuables in plain sight in our cars, and that something as insignificant as suction cup marks on the windshield from a portable GPS could alert a would-be thief that a GPS is hidden in the car. Good info! We are told we are doing well at reducing crime in comparison to the neighborhoods in the area. If you see something, say something, write down license tag numbersif you see something suspicious. The non-emergency FLPD phone number is (954) 828-5700 ext. 4 to report a crime. And check your own license plates regularly to make sure the tag in the upper right is still there. There seems to be a rash of those type thefts going on in our area. The website www.raidsonline.com is a great tool if you are interested in tracking crime in our neighborhood.

Our next speaker was Gene Dempsey, the City Forester for Ft. Lauderdale. He gave us a thorough explanation of th

e NEW whitefly that is infesting our plants, and how to get rid of it. It is different from the whitefly that infested our Ficus trees & hedges.

This one is the Rugose Spiraling Whitefly that

infests banana plants, birds-of-paradise, gumbo limbo trees, palms, and assorted shrubs. It shows up as white spirals and a sooty mildew on the underside of leaves. You may also notice a sticky substance on cars, patio furniture, pool decks, etc that are under infested

trees. This will not damage paint, and once the insect is under control the sticky substance and mold will disappear. To get the infestation under control the following procedures and products are recommended: for small plants and shrubs, wash the leaves with a strong stream of water, then spray the leaves with an organic insecticidal soap or a spray containing Neem, a horticultural oil. For the large plants and trees Mr. Dempsey suggested using Bayer Advanced Protect and Feed (liquid) or Safari Green Light Tree and Shrub (granular). Push the mulch aside and apply the product directly to the dampened soil around the base of the plant or tree. These are both systemic remedies and it's best to alternate between the two products so that the whitefly doesn't build up a tolerance. Always follow the label directions. Mr. Dempsey recommends NOT spraying the leaves of large plants or the canopies of trees, as spraying will kill off the beneficial insects. The good news is that so far no trees in the city parks have died from this particular whitefly and that a natural pred

ator population is building up. If you find a source for our native Lady Bug (the all-black variety) you can introduce them to your own garden and start protecting the plants with this natural predator. For more on this go to the Ft. Lauderdale official website ci.ftlaud.fl.us, look under Announcements for Information about Whiteflies.

Our neighborhood entrance sign adjacent to My Market on 17th Street has been damaged again. That's a tricky curve with the nearby railroad tracks, and our sign seems to take its share of punishment in that vulnerable spot.

Other news:

1)DOT has allocated money for the Greenway project on 4th Avenue.

2) The No Parking area in the median at the Community Center will have new split rail fencing installed in April. 3) Our President Steve Cook is looking into having some of our streets repaved. On some streets, it's been 27 years since they were paved. 4)He will also look into whether they are putting in storm drains on 6th Avenue and 13th Street. That was the plan according to the engineer who surveyed the area recently.

We've had approximately 50 Croissant Park Civic Association memberships since the first of the year. It's never too late to mail in your membership.

On Wednesday, March 7th at 7pm at the Embassy Suites there will be a City Commissioners' Candidate Forum where you can hear from our two candidates for District IV, Jackie Scott and sitting Commissioner Romney Rogers. Find out what the candidates have to say so you can make an informed decision before you go out to vote on Tuesday, March 13th.

50/50 raffle drawing was won by Joe Russell, who raked in a whopping $9.00.

You could be the lucky winner at our next meeting on April 24th. See you then.

Virginia Dill Russell-Secretary